It's crunch time for Anchorage high school swimmers this weekend at Bartlett High.
The best of the Cook Inlet Conference swam in preliminary races Friday, with the top eight in each event earning a lane in Saturday's finals.
Five swimmers recorded the top qualifying time in two events, including Michael Summers of Dimond, whose team is trying to win its seventh straight boys title and fourth straight girls crown.
"We have a lot of weight on our shoulders and we have to keep it up," said Summers, a junior who turned in dominating performances in the boys 200- and 500-yard freestyle races. "I think (defending the title) is in the back of everyone's head, but we just have to take it one meet at a time."
Chugiak's Emmie Jennings was a top qualifier in the girls 200 individual medley and 100 freestyle, and Service's Ezra Hogue-Corwin led the boys in the 50 and 100 freestyle.
Two Eagle River swimmers were top qualifiers in two events apiece, with junior Blaise Fox-Icarro posting the best times in the boys 200 individual medley and 100 butterfly and Esther Min doing the same in the 100 butterfly and 50 freestyle.
"It was kind of difficult, because I had two events that are back-to-back but I endured it and just really enjoyed the process," Min said.
Fox-Icarro, who has never finished higher than third in a CIC championship event, nabbed the top seed in the 100 butterfly after entering the preliminaries with the conference's third fastest time this season.
"I surprised myself," he said. "I was a little more confident than last year."
Eagle River coach David Maker wasn't surprised to see Min and Fox-Icarro perform well. While Min, a sophomore who didn't compete as a freshman, is thriving at her first CIC meet, Fox-Icarro is using his experience at the past two to his advantage.
"I've known Blaise since he was 8 years old and he looked easy and free today," Maker said. "He's swimming with no nerves and it's been nice to watch him evolve into that kind of performer, 'cause he's the guy that always got passed on the end of these races when he was younger. He didn't really know how to suck it up at the end, and he's figured that out."
Anyone who wins a CIC final Saturday automatically qualifies for next week's state meet in Juneau, and others can qualify depending on how their times compare with those posted at other regional meets this weekend. Sixteen swimmers per event will advance.
Jennings is hoping to be one of them, because she wants a shot to improve upon her second-place finish in the 100 freestyle.
Defending her CIC title won't be without challenges for Jennings, who barely outpaced Eagle River's Jordyn Bruce by .29 seconds Friday. Jennings finished in 54.31 seconds in the third heat after Bruce clocked a 54.60 in the second heat.
"Jordan set a good time for me to catch," Jennings said. "I knew I could do it. I just had to put my mind to it."
Summers, the defending champ in the 500 freestyle and the runnerup to teammate Jackson Ursin (now graduated) in last year's 200 freestyle, put his competition on notice with his performance. He was more than four seconds faster than his nearest competitor in the 200 and nearly 10 seconds faster in the 500.
The Service and South boys likely have the best shot at ending Dimond's streak of six CIC titles, said Dimond coach Scott O'Brien, and the Cougars can gain some big points from Hogue-Corwin if he continues to improve on his times in the 50 and 100 freestyles. The junior finished the 50 in 22.08 and the 100 in 48.30, both career bests.
"I was trying for best times and if first came along, that'd be nice," Hogue-Corwin said. "We've a had a great season. I love my team."
Winning team titles is not the work of individuals. Noticeably absent from the preliminary round are the six relay races, which will be contested Saturday. The crowd is always loudest during the relays, and a lot of team points come from those events.
"We're really looking forward to winning a couple of those relays, and if not winning, placing really high," said South senior Marshall Dupree. "That's the most intense part of the swim meet. We've got two completely stacked relays."
Reach Jeremy Peters at jpeters@adn.com or 257-4335.
Cook Inlet Conference Swimming and Diving Championships
At Bartlett Pool
Friday's swimming preliminaries (top 8)
Girls
all distances in yards
200 freestyle -- 1) Burke, Sammy, Chugiak, 1:59.64; 2) Wilcox, Jenny, Dimond, 2:01.15; 3) Maker, Kaitlyn, Eagle River, 2:02.23; 4) Blackstone, Abby, Chugiak, 2:04.46; 5) Tarbeth, Emma, Service, 2:08.28; 6) Ross, Taylor, Dimond, 2:09.11; 7) Sato, Ripple; Dimond, 2:09.72; 8) Harris, Lilly, West, 2:10.41.
200 individual medley -- 1) Jennings, Emmie, Chugiak, 2:12.60; 2) Geskey, Julia, Eagle River, 2:12.98; 3) Oakley, Madeleine, Dimond, 2:14.50; 4) DeGeorge, Tara, West, 2:14.88; 4) Bruce, Jordyn, Eagle River, 2:14.88; 6) Rohde, Arianna, Dimond, 2:17.13; 7) Hanson, Olivia, Dimond, 2:17.79; 8) Schoff, Amber, South, 2:18.13.
50 freestyle -- 1) Min, Esther, Eagle River, 24.67; 2) Hampton, Alyssa, Dimond, 25.44; 3) Williams, Kendal, Dimond, 26.30; 4) Jarupakorn, Jennifer, Bartlett, 26.46; 5) Husa, Emily, Dimond, 27.03; 6) Palmer, Mazzy, West, 27.20; 7) Hodgson, Joley, South, 27.68; 8) Gordon, Laura, West, 27.71.
100 butterfly -- 1) Min, Esther, Eagle River, 58.18; 2) Wilcox, Jenny, Dimond, 1:01.10; 3) Hampton, Alyssa, Dimond, 1:02.83; 4) Rohde, Aleah, Dimond, 1:04.49; 5) Jarupakorn, Jennifer, Bartlett, 1:05.19; 6) Asay, Caitlin, Dimond, 1:05.50; 7) Stewart, Erica, South, 1:06.05; 8) Harris, Lilly, West, 1:09.00.
100 freestyle -- 1) Jennings, Emmie, Chugiak, 54.31; 2) Bruce, Jordyn, Eagle River, 54.60; 3) Williams, Kendal, Dimond, 57.84; 4) Tarbeth, Emma, Service, 58.59; 5) Sato, Ripple, Dimond, 59.83; 6) Fox-Singh, Courtney, Eagle River, 1:00.00; 7) Husa, Emily, Dimond, 1:00.09; 8) Jarupakorn, Christine, Bartlett, 1:00.36.
500 freestyle -- 1) DeGeorge, Tara, West, 5:20.83; 2) Maker, Kaitlyn, Eagle River, 5:25.65; 3) Blackstone, Abby, Chugiak, 5:37.11; 4) Ross, Taylor, Dimond, 5:42.40; 5) Shannon, Alexandra, South, 5:42.52; 6) Flores, Madeline, Dimond, 5:51.03; 7) Wichorek, Mary, South, 5:51.21; 8) Damrill, Eva, West, 5:51.28.
100 backstroke -- 1) Rohde, Arianna, Dimond, 1:00.50; 2) Geskey, Julia, Eagle River, 1:00.71; 3) Burke, Sammy, Chugiak, 1:01.19; 4) Schoff, Amber, South, 1:01.68; 5) Hanson, Olivia, Dimond, 1:05.30; 6) Hodgson, Joley, South, 1:05.63; 7) Rohde, Aleah, Dimond, 1:06.80; 8) Jarupakorn, Christine, Bartlett, 1:07.51.
100 breaststroke -- 1) Wray, Kari, Dimond, 1:10.34; 2) Oakley, Madeleine, Dimond, 1:11.67; 3) Knight, Leah, West, 1:15.19; 4) Hawkins, Megan, Dimond, 1:15.67; 5) Cvancara, Ruth, Dimond, 1:17.16; 6) Harris, Sarah, West, 1:17.18; 7) Farmer, Melinda, Service, 1:17.60; 8) Chan, Shannon, South, 1:23.30.
Boys
200 freestyle -- 1) Summers, Michael, Dimond, 1:44.56; 2) O'Brien, Jarod, Dimond, 1:48.70; 3) Fox-Icarro, Bryce, Eagle River, 1:49.39; 4) Alfano, Nathan, Dimond, 1:53.28; 5) Min, Joseph, Eagle River, 1:54.76; 6) Floyd, Nigel, Eagle River, 1:56.74; 7) Martin, Zachary, Chugiak, 1:57.49; 8) Munson, Edward B, Dimond, 2:00.95.
200 individual medley -- 1) Fox-Icarro, Blaise, Eagle River, 2:01.97; 2) Dragomir, Dakota, South, 2:04.77; 3) Hanni, Jacob, Dimond, 2:07.16; 4) Emili, Ryan, South, 2:08.87; 5) Cvancara, Luke, Dimond, 2:09.30; 6) Korzon, Mark, Eagle River, 2:09.76; 7) Rogers, Jonah, Service, 2:09.89; 8) Hoen, Jack, Dimond, 2:15.22.
50 freestyle -- 1) Hogue-Corwin, Ezra, Service, 22.08; 2) Adams, Nathanial, Service, 22.45; 3) Lai, Nathan, South, 22.47; 4) Behm, A.J., South, 23.27; 5) Haas, Johnny, Service, 23.40; 6) Monaghan, Thomas, Dimond, 23.52; 7) Fitzgerald, Nolan, West, 23.69; 8) Rust, Jameson, Dimond, 23.90.
100 butterfly -- 1) Fox-Icarro, Blaise, Eagle River, 53.83; 2) Alfano, Nathan, Dimond, 54.83; 3) Krasnican, Thomas, Service, 55.47; 4) Horwatt, Matthew, Dimond, 55.85; 5) Berlin, Jackson, Service, 57.31; 6) Dupree, Marshall, South, 57.48; 7) Wolcott, John, South, 59.22; 8) Powers, Samuel, Service, 1:01.40.
100 freestyle -- 1) Hogue-Corwin, Ezra, Service, 48.30; 2) Lai, Nathan, South, 49.64; 3) Monaghan, Thomas, Dimond, 51.33; 4) Behm, A.J., South, 51.64; 5) Fitzgerald, Nolan, West, 52.11; 6) Hiles, Nathan, South, 52.33; 7) Krasnican, Thomas, Service, 52.40; 8) Floyd, Nigel, Eagle River, 52.59.
500 freestyle -- 1) Summers, Michael, Dimond, 4:44.89; 2) Fox-Icarro, Bryce, Eagle River, 4:54.88; 3) Hanni, Jacob K, Dimond, 5:04.13; 4) Rogers, Jonah, Service, 5:11.55; 5) Min, Joseph, Eagle River, 5:13.98; 6) Hellen, Aidan, West, 5:16.58; 7) Martin, Zachary, Chugiak, 5:26.53; 8) Munson, Edward B, Dimond, 5:31.15;
100 backstroke -- 1) Dragomir, Dakota, South, 56.26; 2) Adams, Nathanial, Service, 56.66; 3) Dupree, Marshall, South, 58.59; 4) Horwatt, Matthew, Dimond, 59.93; 5) Berlin, Jackson, Service, 1:01.81; 6) Chan, Vernon, South, 1:02.16; 7) Hellen, Aidan, West, 1:03.95; 8) Minster, Nicholas, South, 1:04.51.
100 breaststroke -- 1) O'Brien, Jarod, Dimond, 1:03.79; 2) Hoen, Jack, Dimond, 1:04.02; 3) Cvancara, Luke, Dimond, 1:05.70; 4) Emili, Ryan, South, 1:06.28; 5) Fast, Brandon, Eagle River, 1:06.69; 6) Cvancara, Dax, Dimond, 1:07.94; 7) Korzon, Mark, Eagle River, 1:08.59; 8) Zimmer, Noah, West, 1:12.70.
By JEREMY PETERS